ACME Group looking to raise capital by listing solar assets through InvIT

Mumbai: Delhi-based renewable energy and telecom solutions company ACME Group is planning to raise capital by listing its solar assets through infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) listing, said three people directly familiar with the matter.

“The company was previously contemplating raising capital through an initial public offering (IPO), with the increase in investor interest in InvITs it has now changed its plans and looking to raise money through this route,” said the first person mentioned above.

As InvITs garner interest from global investors, renewable energy firms are also lining up to raise capital through this route. This would be the first time a renewable energy company would come to the market to raise capital.

“They have been talking of raising over $200 million through an equity stake sale process, although the numbers aren’t concrete yet. They want to provide an exit to its existing investors and they are planning to launch their issue in FY18,” said the second person mentioned above.

Dhingra further added that InvIT is a good option given recent issuances which prove demand for product, “solar has all characteristics which make it suitable however listing through IPO is also a good option for growth company like ours.”

Dhingra declined to comment on the issue size and said will update when matters are crystalised.

ACME Cleantech had raised Rs 500 crore from Piramal Structured Finance Group (SFG) in November last year. The capital was raised in the form of structured debt. In 2013, ACME had raised capital from French firm EDF Energies Nouvelle and Luxembourg-based EREN Re­newable Energy.

The group has decided to bring in its solar assets under ACME Solar Holdings which will house the assets. At present ACME has solar capacity of nearly 1.5 Gigawatts (GW) and it plans to add another 700 MW during the year. The company’s website cites more aggressive plans and says that it plans to build a portfolio of 7.5GW by 2019.

ACME has solar power projects in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It has recently won bids to develop solar parks in Rewa and Bhadla III, these projects collectively account for 450 mw. During the recent auction the company bid at Rs 2.44 per unit, the lowest bid by any solar company to date.

Bidding prices for solar assets have been falling significantly over the last few months, yet the sector has managed to witness highest amount of deals.

According to a report by Equirus Capital released inMarch 2017, during FY17 renewable companies have managed to raise $1.3 billion across 14 transactions.

“To save the environment and to fight climate change, my government has planned a major campaign. By 2022, we want to generate 175 GW of renewable energy. In the last three years, we have already achieved 60 GW or around one-third of this target,” he said.